Last term, amici curiae filed more than 700 briefs, participated in 96% of argued cases, and were cited by the justices in more than half of all merits cases. Twenty years ago this would’ve been big news, but those numbers have become routine at One First Street. If anything, friends of the court were quieter in 2018–19 than in recent terms, which have seen a record number of briefs and the highest level of amicus participation in history.

The most notable amicus development of the term had nothing to do with the briefs themselves. The Supreme Court took steps this year to gently tighten the reins on amicus practice by announcing new word limits on friend-of-the-court briefs and issuing special guidance to address recurring issues with amicus submissions.